Fremantle Revenues Up 21% As Super-Indie Inches Toward €3B Turnover Target

EXCLUSIVE: Fremantle HR boss Nicky Gray is exiting the Got Talent and Normal People super-indie after more than two decades.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Andrea Scrosati, who is group COO and continental Europe CEO of Fremantle, isn’t too worried about various types of turbulence that are currently creating anxiety in the U.S. media market such as draconian cost cuts being made by juggernaut groups and the impending prospect of a Writers Guild of America strike. Speaking in Italy at a panel titled “Less is More – What to Do When the Streaming Boom is Over” Scrosati noted that the effect of market consolidation in the U.S. and fear due to plunging stock market results that is prompting cost cuts at Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery certainly means that “some of the big buyers are in a conflict.”

The story of the last months of Saddam Hussein’s life is to be told via a feature film from Fremantle and Sinestra.

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle and Sinestra, the production outfit from director Johan Renck and producer Michael Parets, are in development on feature film “The Prisoner in His Palace.” The film will be based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book “The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid” that tells the story of 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months leading up to his execution. It explores the two distinct sides of Saddam Hussein: the cruel tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools and the contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of death. The book delves into the guards’ experiences and shows how Saddam’s presence affected them on a personal level.

Marco Tombolini is now sole CEO of Fremantle Italy after Gabriele Immirzi moved to Lorenzo Mielio’s drama house The Apartment Pictures.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Fremantle is restructuring management of its Italian operations by promoting Marco Tombolini to the role of CEO Fremantle Italy. Tombolini, who since May of 2022 was Fremantle Italy co-CEO, will now “Take the helm of all areas and functions of the company, with the senior management of Fremantle Italy reporting directly to him,” a Fremantle statement said. Gabriele Immirzi – who had long served as Fremantle Italy CEO prior to sharing the CEO role with Tombolini since last May – has now stepped down but is staying in the Fremantle fold becoming co-CEO with Lorenzo Mieli of The Apartment Pictures.

A dramatization of the life of Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan/Renault CEO who escaped from arrest hidden in a music case, is in the works from Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuarón and This England’s Michael Winterbottom.

Gisele Bündchen is setting the record straight. The supermodel is responding to rumors that claim she has been secretly dating Tom Brady’s friend, billionaire Jeffrey Soffer.During her recent interview with Vanity Fair, Bündchen took a moment to explain that she doesn’t have any kind of relationship with Soffer.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Fremantle has acquired a majority stake in Belgium’s A Team Productions the indie outfit behind hit drug gang drama “Patsers” by directorial duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and standout short “ “Baghdad Messi.”  The company, which was founded in 2009, is headed by Kobe van Steenberghe and Hendrik Verthé and scored its first major international in 2011 with the short “Land of the Heroes” which won the International Jury Prize at the Berlinale that year. They are also behind short “Baghdad Messi,” by Belgium-based Kurdish director Sahim Omar Kalifa, which won prizes at dozens of international fests and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2014.

Fremantle Acquires Majority Stake In Belguim’s A Team ProductionsFremantle has acquired a majority stake in A Team Productions (ATP). Based in Belgium, A Team Productions was founded in 2009 and is led by Kobe van Steenberghe and Hendrik Verthé. The company is behind the 2011 short film Land of the Heroes, which won the International Jury Prize at Berlin in 2011. A Team also produced the short Baghdad Messi, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2014. Other credits from the outfit include Patser (Gangsta) by filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Later this year, A Team will release the feature-length film Baghdad Messi and the high-end fiction series Alter Ego. “I have long admired Kobe, Hendrik, and the whole ATP team’s work,” said Dave Heuten, CEO Fremantle Belgium. “I am excited to be going on this journey with them, finding synergies and developing new content together – I can’t wait to work with this brilliant team and achieve great things together.”

Jesse Lee Soffer returns to  following his departure as Detective Jay Halstead earlier this season — this time as a first-time director. Soffer exited as a series regular after the Oct. 5 episode.

Fremantle has launched a premium documentaries label helmed by Mandy Chang.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Fremantle’s Documentaries division has launched Undeniable, a label dedicated to producing premium feature documentaries and series, in partnership with high-profile talent and international commissioners, Mandy Chang, Fremantle’s global head of documentaries, revealed Tuesday at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. The label is already developing several international projects and partnerships with high-profile filmmakers, including Amy Berg (“Deliver Us From Evil,” “Phoenix Rising”), Chris Smith (“Tiger King,” “Bad Vegan”), and Penny Lane and Gabriel Sedgwick (“Hail Satan?,” “Listening to Kenny G”). Chang said: “The launch of Undeniable further underlines our commitment and ambition to build Fremantle’s documentary output on the premium side. Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres. Importantly, it will provide a platform and freedom for creative talent to unlock and explore important issues and stories to be told.”

Top International execs from ZDF Studios, Fremantle, All3Media and Banijay have said the potential U.S. writers strike and changing market economics can create opportunities to strike new business.

Australian actor Peter Hardy shared some 'reasons to be cheerful' online just an hour before his sudden death while snorkeling at a West Australian beach.  The 66-year-old was pulled unresponsive from the water at about 10. 40am at  Fremantle's South Beach on Thursday, shortly after sharing a series of photos online.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising comedian, writer and actor Mary Beth Barone is set to exec produce and star in Good Girl, an indie erotic thriller to be directed by Lauren Garroni, in her feature debut.

Good afternoon Insiders, here we are again and it’s Max Goldbart helming a busy week’s newsletter. Scroll down for the biggest news and analysis from team Deadline International, and sign up to the newsletter here.

Gisele Bündchen has been living her best life following her controversial divorce from Tom Brady. The supermodel has been spotted spending quality time with her kids, working on some new exciting projects, and making time for some of her longtime friends, including billionaire Jeffrey Soffer, who is known to be a friend of the retired NFL star.It was recently reported by The Daily Mail, that the model is ready to date again.

Gisele Bündchen may have a new man in her life.

‘Bad All Over The World – 50 Years Of Rock Tour’ is decidedly the latter.“From (our) very first show, we’ve stayed true to ourselves and the music we love,” Thorogood said on Instagram. “We’ve decided to celebrate our first half-century by throwing the biggest and baddest rock party ever.”Over the course of 37 huge concerts, the legendary classic rockers/bluesmen will take their big and bad rock party to theaters, arenas and amphitheaters all over the U.S.